RIVALS INCARNATE

Chapter Thirteen: Remember Me

840 AD, 9th Century of Japan (Along the northern boundaries of Kyoto)

***Crowned Prince Shin and Warrior Rei were both twenty-two years at this time***

His breathing got so heavy.

He could hear his heart pounding so loud, throbbing with such density, his body moving slower than he wanted it to, and his vision getting a little hazy. But he knew he should not stop, his throat felt too dry, sweat dripping down his whole body but the enemies were still not defeated. He struck his sword to an approaching opponent, docking his head to evade the spear coming at him. 

He felt the slow digging of the blade into the flesh, the blood slowly staining the clothes of the man injured in front of him. He heard him groan, yet Prince Shin focused on making sure he would kill him.

The exhaustion hit him as soon as the man fell down to the ground, the blade sliding out of his body, just near his abdomen. Shin heard a groan and a gasp, and everything was slowly fading out. He was running out of breath. His body felt too heavy, and he tried to lick his lips, looking around at the entire scene of clashing weapons and screaming men.

This war was still not ending. But he was too tired. He found himself kneeling before the man who was now half-dead. Shin looked down and watched as the half-dead body on the ground struggled to survive even when it was no longer possible. He was going to die.

The man kept gasping, his breath bursting out in short puffs and Shin merely smirked before he slowly raised his sword again to give the enemy one last blow and quickly kill him off. He should never leave his enemies still breathing.

But before he could hit him once again, their eyes suddenly met. Shin paused as he stared right back, unfazed. There were no emotions, no movement of their faces, just their eyes gazing into each other. And right after a few seconds of just staring, Shin finally struck the man again with his sword, dropping it down near where he had struck him before. The man let out a grunting noise, but his eyes remained glued towards Shin. He just stared, and Shin could not comprehend what the man was trying to say with those eyes.

And even with that smeared face, partially covered with bloodstains, dirt, and sweat, Shin clearly saw a single tear falling out of the man's eye before he lost the light and eventually stopped breathing. He still had his eyes opened, still staring in Shin's direction, but Shin already could tell that he was dead. 

How fleeting... was all that Shin could say in his head. He tried to get up, felt his knees shaking from the weight of his armor and his worn-out body. And out of the blue, someone suddenly starting shouting and running towards him, Shin turned his head alarmingly, moving before he could even think. But he knew he was moving too slow, he could only see everything taking place in constant slow-motion as he watched the spear nearing his way.

And as he tried his best to avoid the impending tragedy, he was already closing his eyes, like a coward little kid, scared to face the possible death coming at him. But then, right after the next second, someone dropped on the floor, and Shin waited for something... But nothing happened.

Only then did he realized when he had turned his head around, with his hands reflexively raised above, in an intent to cover his face, that he was still alive. And when Shin looked back to see what just happened, he saw a pair of warrior's boots standing before him, those he immediately identified were worn by his allies'. And next to the stranger was the body of the enemy who had just attacked him, sprawled down on the ground in front of him, headless.

Shin quickly looked up, he was too grateful, smiling, upon knowing he had been saved right on time, but when he saw who it was, his entire face froze.

It was Rei... and instead of being glad, Shin's face darkened. He instantly despised the way that bastard had looked down on him at that very moment.

It was as if saying... Shin would have died if Rei had not been there for him.

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PRESENT, 2020 (Tokyo)

Yoko Amazawa was just on her way back to the party scene, her small easy steps slowly progressed as she tried to walk in short strides because of the tight dress she was wearing that had her struggling to return to Kyouhei's side immediately. Yet before she could even cross the distance of the dance floor on her way to where Kyouhei was, someone suddenly pulled her arm back.

She was too shocked to process what just happened that Yuko stumbled on her shoe and almost fell on her back. Thankfully, the person who had pulled her was still gentle enough to save her from the fall with an arm quickly catching Yuko from behind and then smoothly helping her up to stand again. It was too fast, and Yuko was too caught off guard that she had no time to get angry at first, while she tried to find her balance. And when she had finally turned around to look at the person who had just almost humiliated her but also surprisingly saved her from that as well, she was suddenly deemed speechless.

"It's really you, isn't it?" the stranger, who just happened to be a man that Yuko quickly recognized the very second her eyes landed on him, said in a dreamy deep voice as he looked too intensely into her eyes.

This was impossible. How could this be?

"You... know me?" Yuko asked, frowning, feeling anxious and so confused. The man just kept staring at her with this delighted expression drawn all on his face like he totally knew her... In a very personal way. And a quick assumption just popped into her mind, but that can't really be, can it?

"I can't believe this," the man started uttering, shaking his head as his words continued to flow out his mouth quite a bit faster as he went on, "This is crazy, it is really you, isn't it? But you're a woman now... I can't believe this. You know me right? You know who I am, right?"

For a moment, Yuko tried to keep her silent first. She still could not know what to make of this. This was all too good to be true... it can't be.

But she could already tell that it was all very real. She was definitely looking back at the very image, body, and soul of someone she knew too much for so long... Someone she knew and was too familiar with (both in the past and this present life she had): the one from twelve hundred years ago, and the one she had been so desperate to communicate with just recently.

OSAMU SATO and GENERAL KAORU... standing right before her in one same body. Two faces, but one flesh. HE WAS REAL.

"Your Highness," Osamu Sato whispered emotionally in that very soulful voice, his eyes filled with utter excitement and pure joy as he subconsciously grabbed both of her arms with his big hands. He gave her a slight shake as if he was still making sure he was not just seeing things before him. Yuko tried to process what was happening at the time, but as soon as she heard him say those two words, it had all been confirmed.

Then she realized her surroundings, and where she really was, and she could sense the gathered looks from the other curious people around them. Trying to break herself free from Osamu's hold and proximity, she gently removed his hands and decided to calm him down. She looked into his eyes, and she quickly came up with a plan in her head. She had to act accordingly first, they were still in public.

"We need to talk somewhere else. Not here," she told Osamu. Her voice sounding firm and business-like, clearing her throat as she discreetly looked around, only to see that the onlookers were now returning back to their own matters. Damage control, check.

Then she turned to Osamu again, who had just nodded to her request. He was still obviously too engrossed over the fact that she was Emperor Shin, and she was there with him. He really knew her. HE KNEW HER. How was that possible? When all this time, neither Kyouhei (for the past seven years that they have known each other) nor Ami (after meeting her a while ago) could even recognize her?

She felt the shock slowly turned to amazement, then to gratefulness... The gods were still favoring her side and she could not believe this. She finally found an ally, after all this time. And Yuko mentally cheered up to the fact that she can make this man work and submit to her wishes. 

He was the freaking OSAMU SATO! The very guy Yuko had been wanting to catch the most right now, and knowing that he was also GENERAL KAORU, his most loyal servant in the past, extremely pleased her.

As soon as they had found a secluded space just on a separate hallway, further away from the crowd and any witnesses, Yuko quickly gave the man a beaming smile. She felt like winning... And she knew she was definitely winning this time.

"Now, speak," she ordered the man, in a dominant voice out of habit. And as soon as she said that, Osamu Sato, the very famous heir of a very powerful family in Japan, immediately knelt on the floor just like he had always done in their previous lives.

"Your Highness," Osamu said in great reverence, bowing his head towards Yuko. "I am honored to come before you again and serve you in this lifetime. Please allow me to be your anchor and I shall never fail you even if it costs my life again."

Indeed, Yuko smirked at that declaration. He had sacrificed his own life many times and even at those last few moments of Shin's life too. And for that, Yuko was very grateful and even more fortunate that this man still remembered his own previous life. As to why he still had his memories as she had, Yuko was still not so sure how that happened but it was helping her now. She never really thought she would even find someone with whom she would even share the same state and reality too... But it certainly gave her an advantage.

"There's only one thing that I would want you to swear on in this time, Kaoru," Yuko began and Osamu looked up and met her eyes as she spoke, "I want you to help me get my revenge."

"Revenge, Your Highness?" Osamu questioned, slightly frowning.

"On Rei," Yuko explained, her eyes turning sharp as she elaborated her darkest intent, "I want you to help me get my revenge for the crime he had selfishly committed in the past. I want you to help me make him pay for it."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------next chapter: Chapter Fourteen